BUCKEYE SHOOTING DRILL

Buckeye Shooting works on perimeter shooting, ball handling, and conditioning. 

Line of 1's have a ball. 

Line of 2's start just inside the sideline. 

Line of 3's have a ball and line up along the lane line. 

1 and 2 start at the same time. 1 speed dribbles around the cone. 2 sprints around the cone. Designate that 1 goes closest to the cone and 2 goes over 1 to avoid a collision. 2 will spot up at spot they want to shoot from. When 1 goes around the cone they make a pass to 2. 2 shoots. 1 continues and receives a pass from 3. 1 shoots. Each player gets their own rebound. Players rotate 2-1-3.     

Drill Variation:  Require 1's (ball handlers) to make a dribble attack move during their speed dribble.

TWENTY SHOOTING DRILL

I'm always looking for different ways to incorporate shooting into my practices. I typically try to use drills that are as game-like as possible. But, there are occasions when I am looking to work on getting more shots up so our players can work on technique, confidence, shooting under pressure, or just getting some reps. 

The 20 SHOOTING DRILL will get your players a lot of shots with some pressure added.  

• Put three players at each basket with one basketball. 
• Players are competing against the other players at their basket.
• First player to 20 points, wins. 
• Each player keeps their own score, and calls out their score after each make.
• Shot made inside the three point line = 1 point
• Shot made beyond the three point line = 2 points.
• All shots must be 15 feet and beyond.
• Player shoots until they miss and when they miss a new shooter comes in. Shooter cannot shoot from the same spot two shots in a row.     

You can add other variations to this drill like:

• Have players shoot from specific spots on the floor.
• Put a time limit on the drill and when time expires, the player with the most points, wins.
• Add a second ball to increase the number of shots
• Give a bonus point for making five shots in a row

333 DRILL

333 stands for playing 3-on-3 and needing 3 stops.  The 333 Drill has mostly a defensive focus, but you can also coach offense at the same time.  This drill forces your players to defend at a high level over a period of time.

333 starts with three offensive players and three defensive players playing 3-on-3.  The remaining players form three lines near half court waiting to get into the drill.

The goal is for the defensive team to get three clean stops.  A clean stop is when the defense prevents the offense from scoring.  A clean stop also means that the offensive team does not get an offensive rebound during the possession. If the offense shoots and misses, gets an offensive rebound, and then turns the ball over this would NOT be a clean stop for the defense because they gave up an offensive rebound.

The defensive team must get three clean stops before they are "out".  After each possession a fresh group of three offensive players comes in to play against the three defenders.  This makes the challenge even greater for the defense, as it forces them to play through fatigue while competing against fresh players.

Once the defensive group gets three clean stops, a new group of three defenders come in to attempt to get their three clean stops.

Drill Variations
*Coaches can allow the offense to just play. But you can also have the defense defend ball screens, down screens, dribble handoffs, back cuts, flare screens, or any other specified movement by requiring the offense to execute these during their possession.
*Cap the number of defensive possessions a group of three defenders can have.  For example, if you cap it at six possessions the defense has to get their three clean stops within six possessions.  If they don't, the run.
*Require the offense to get a paint touch before they shoot.  This keeps the offense in an attack mode and prevents them from settling for jump shots.  A paint touch can come from a post entry pass, dribble penetration, or passing to a cutting player in the lane.

STOP ADMIRING THE PROBLEM AND CHANGE!

During pregame warmups I was visiting with the coach of our rival opponent.  The opposing coach has had a long and very successful career.  Personally, I always enjoy competing against his teams because I know I will have to be at my best.  As we were exchanging typical small talk I had mentioned to him how impressed I was with how his team ran their half court offense and sets when I scouted them a week earlier.  He actually started to laugh, which surprised me because I was sincere with my comment.  He then continued and said, "Yes, we might be able to run our offense and our sets well, but it doesn't matter how well you run your offense, or what offense you run if you can't put the ball in the basket."  Hmm...

This was a "wow!" moment for me.  We had always dedicated time during our in-season practices to offensive skill development, but I will admit I was more of a drill coach that liked to break down our offense and defense to keep working on getting better at each.  And I think back to how many times I wished we could shoot a few percentage points better.  And I think back to how many times I wished we had a few more quality ball handlers on the roster.  Or maybe said to an assistant, "They just didn't work hard enough on it during the off-season."  FINALLY, I recognized I needed to make a change instead of just admiring a problem.  A coach always wants their team to improve, right?  Hoping for improvement is one thing, but taking action to fix it is another.

What I had been doing was admiring the problem instead of trying to take control and help fix it. The decision was made to then dedicate more of our in-season practice time to skill development. Dedicating more in-season practice time to skill development will obviously improve the offensive skill of our players.  The result of this becomes less hoping by the coach for a few percentage points increase in shooting percentage. 

Offenses and set plays are a big part of basketball.  But those offenses and set plays will look much better when your offensive skill is better.  Sounds simple, but it's true.

TIPS TO GET THROUGH THE DOG DAYS OF YOUR SEASON

1. Shorten the length of practices as the season progresses. 

• Keeping your players fresh is important.  As you get into the last 1/3 of your season you may want to consider shortening the length of practices.  Fewer minutes on the court can be a psychological boost to your team.
  

2. It's ok to have some fun in the gym on occasion - just for the sake of having fun.

• Organizing some fun basketball related activities at the end of an occasional practice session will keep your players spirits up.  Get your work done first, then allow your players to experience some fun together on the court.  Let them see the coaches enjoying it too.

3. Give your players a day off. 

• If your schedule allows you to give your players a day off, go ahead and do it if you feel your players need it.  Make sure you give your team enough practice time before your next game though.  
  

4. Add a variety of new drills to your practice routine.

• Coaches emphasize in practice what they want their teams to be good at - or known for.  Those emphasized areas are drilled throughout every practice.  As the season progresses coaches need to create a variety of drills to emphasize these priorities.
  

5. Without overloading your team, add new X's and O's to your team's inventory.

• Adding a new wrinkle to your offense or defense can add some much needed excitement to your players.  
  

6. Arrange for a guest speaker to visit with your team.

• Give your players a chance to be motivated by others outside your program.  Bring in an ex-player, a business leader in your community, a respected teacher, or someone who has experienced success in their area of expertise to deliver an inspirational message to your team.

7. Have your team re-evaluate team goals that were set early in the season.

• Allow your team to meet without the coaching staff to discuss and possibly adjust the goals that were set at the beginning of the season.  It is possible that the goals may need to be scaled back.  Or it could be that they would like create even higher goals for the remainder of the season.

8. Organize team bonding activities.

• Getting your team together outside of the gym is important.  It allows them to have fun and get to know one another better without having to deal with the rigors of basketball.

COACHES SHARE RESPONSES: 5-ON-5 SCRIMMAGE PHILOSOPHY

Thank you to the coaches who added to this weekend's COACHES SHARE.  Taking the time to share your knowledge with us is appreciated as you are helping us all on our path of continued improvement.

What is your philosophy on 5-on-5 scrimmages (full court or half court) in your practices?  Do you do it every day?  Do you have any special ways of running your 5-on-5 time in practices?


"When we have our team go 5-on-5 live in practice we keep score and every basket counts as 1 point. It is rare for us to have these sessions go past 3 points. Keep them shorter sessions and then every possession counts."
~Coach R.S. (IA)

"We finish our practices with five-on-five scrimmages. We will do at least fifteen minutes."
~Coach B (IL)

"Once we are into our season and the majority of the X's and O's are set I have a larger scrimmage session in practices.  I have one or two focuses (one offense and one defense) for our players to work on each day during these scrimmages."
~Coach Williams

"We will play for a determined time and keep score. To promote effort and hustle we will add a point for an effort play.  This play must stand out and we don't hand them out for a standard basketball play.  It must be a play that signifies what we want out of our players."
~Coach Sean R.

"We don't do a lot of controlled 5-on-5.  We do most of our team stuff in a continuous drill that is run full court.  It fits our style of play and we coach them "on the run" during this drill."
~Coach Ray (CA)

"We do some 5 on 5 scrimmages but we always time it. So we put sometype of situation on the line. For example: 2 minutes left and Blue team is down by 4. We like to do the 5 on 5 game type situations so we can see how our girls react under pressure.  When we do half court 5 on 5, the focus is in bounds plays and defensive close outs. We do not do it everyday, we will do it more often as the season goes on. We usally always conduct the 5 on 5 at the end of practice. We also put some incentive out there, like push ups or sprints"

 ~Drew Lyness/Assistant Girls Basketball Coach/Soddy Daisy High School

SATURDAY COACHES SHARE 9-8-12

Saturday Coaches Share is a way for YOU to help other coaches.  Each Saturday this blog gives you an opportunity to comment on a different basketball related topic so our readers can learn from your experiences.

If you are interested in commenting on this week's Saturday Coaches Share all you have to do is email your response to dietelgreg@gmail.com before 8:00 AM Sunday, September 9 (tomorrow).  Then look for your response to be posted on Sunday's blog.

Today's Coaches Share question:  What is your philosophy on 5-on-5 scrimmages (full court or half court) in your practices?  Do you do it every day?  Do you have any special ways of running your 5-on-5 time in practices?

Remember coaches learn from each other.  Share your thoughts on today's question and see it in tomorrow's blog post. 

YOU EXPECT IT, BUT DO YOU PRACTICE IT?

You require your players to do certain things in game situations. These requirements could also be considered expectations. There is one question a coach needs to ask themselves about these expectations:

If you expect it, are you practicing it enough?

One example of an expectation coaches have for their players is to step in and take a charge on defense.  Do you actually practice taking a charge?  Taking a charge is a part of the game that needs to be drilled so players can feel comfortable stepping in and give up their body for their team.

Another example is diving on the floor for a loose ball.  Do you practice this?  If you expect your players to do it in a game then it needs to be practiced so it becomes second nature to your players.

A third example is setting and using a screen.  Do you practice it?  Your players probably know when and where screens are to be set within your offense. Showing your players and drilling your players on how to set and use screens is important for it to carry over into game situations.

Letting your players know they have to do something is one thing, but practicing it and making it part of "what you do" is another.  Coaches are always looking to improve their X's and O's.  Coaches are always working on helping players with their technique.  But are coaches having their players practice the expectations of the coach (like taking a charge or diving on the floor for a loose ball)?  Telling your team it is important is one thing, but practicing it and drilling it is going to help your players meet these expectations.

Figure out what is important to you as a coach for your players to do well.  Expect that they do it well, but don't forget to give them a chance to practice or drill it in practices so it becomes second nature to them.

IMPORTANCE OF A PRE-PRACTICE ROUTINE

Does this sound like your gym?  Practice starts at 3:30.  The first of your players start entering the gym at about 3:00.  Little by little your entire roster is in the gym getting ready for practice.  There might be a group of three over in one corner talking about school.  Another pair of players are off by themselves talking about what they are going to do after practice.  Maybe a handful will shoot the ball, lightly jog after it, and then take their time to shoot again.  Is this time being used wisely?  Quite honestly the answer is, no.

Developing a pre-practice routine for your players can be extremely beneficial in the skill development of your players.  A pre-practice routine is a quick series of activities of skill work. Having a pre-practice routine has it's benefits
1. Gets your players in the gym earlier.
2. Helps develop the skill development of your players.
3. Promotes accountability with your players.
4. Eliminates wasted time in the gym.

Coaches can create any type of pre-practice routine they feel fits their team.  You can make them position specific or develop one that will help develop the overall skills of your players.

The following pre-practice routine can be easily completed in 8 minutes.
*Make 20 Mikan shots
*10 Form shooting shots from three feet (hold follow through)
*Four different 2-ball ballhandling drills (30 seconds per drill)
*1 2-ball partner passing/catching drill (1 minute)
*Take 20 game shots (position specific)

If you were to use this pre-practice routine then it would be important for the coaching staff to first teach the players how to do each one of the parts in the routine. Once the players understand what is expected they will then know that the routine must be completed before the official start of practice.

Changing the pre-practice routine throughout the season could be valuable to keep your players from becoming bored with the same thing day after day.  An idea would be to change the routine periodically:  weekly, monthly, or at half point of the season.

Have fun creating the routine for your players.  It can be extremely beneficial for their skill development as it eliminates wasted time in your gym.

DEMAND DEFENSE DRILL

The Demand Defense Drill focuses on closeouts, on the ball defense, and wing denial.  These three parts of defense are related to ball side defense.  Each player's rep in the drill is quick.  Try to limit the amount of dead time in between each pass back to the coach.  This keeps the tempo of the drill up which increases the energy of the drill.

The defender (X) starts in the block area with the ball.  The offensive player (1) starts on the wing at the three point line.  Coach starts at the lane-line extended on the same side as the ball.

The drills tarts with X rolling the ball to 1.  X performs a closeout on 1.

When 1 catches the ball they immediately get in a triple threat position and take one hard dribble.  They can go either right or left, but it has to be a game-like dribble.  X will have to be in a good stance and ready to take a quick step to stay in front 1 on the dribble.  After the the dribble 1 will pivot, X continues to pressure the ball, and then 1 passes the ball to the coach.

After the pass to the coach 1 will immediately v-cut to attempt to get open while X gets in a full denial position trying to prevent the pass back to 1.  Coach will pass the ball to 1 when they get open and this might require 1 to v-cut a few times.

When 1 catches the pass the drill becomes Live.  1 gets two dribbles to attempt to score.

Rotate defense - offense - out.  New player in goes to defense.

PRACTICE SYSTEM TO PROMOTE OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING

There are a number of different type of hustle plays in the game of basketball that can help gain an advantage for your team.  One example is to offensive rebound at a high level.  It takes a lot of effort, energy, and desire to be a good offensive rebounding team.  Getting those extra possessions throughout a game can be a real difference maker in getting the outcome to be in your favor.

Coaches have different philosophies when it comes to offensive rebounding.  Some will send only three players to the boards, some four, and I know some that send all five players to the glass.  Regardless of what your philosophy is the main thing a coach needs to do with their team is to emphasize offensive rebounding every single day in practice.  You can't expect your team to become a great offensive rebounding team just on game nights.  It has to be a part of the team's mentality, and to get to that point it has to be done each day.

One way to emphasize offensive rebounding to your team is to reward it as part of a scoring system in practice.

Example...

Set up a scrimmage situation.  It doesn't matter if your scrimmage is controlled, full court, half court,  or an all out game-like scrimmage.  Keep score as you normally would in any team scrimmage.  The one difference would be to add +1 point to a team's score for every offensive rebound they get throughout the scrimmage.  Using this scoring system a team could realistically win a scrimmage to five points without ever putting the ball in the basket.  Obviously this would not be ideal, but it will really get your players to attack the boards with a higher level of aggressiveness.

Adding points for offensive rebounds can also be added to your drill work (when it is applicable).

By implementing points for offensive rebounds in your practices you are helping make offensive rebounding a big part of what you do as a team.  It takes more than just telling your players to attack the boards harder, it has to be a part of the mentality of your team.

  

COACHING SHARE RESPONSES

Yesterday coaches were asked to share some of their thoughts on length of practice time during the season.  Below are some of the responses.  Thank you to all the coaches who shared!

"Regardless of the time of season we are in we never stay on the court for more than two hours."
 ~Coach T (WI) High School Coach

"At the beginning of the season we keep our players on the floor about two-and-a-half hours.  Once our games start it goes down to two hours.  At the end of the season I lessen it to ninety minutes."
~Coach Brent (MA) High School Coach

"I've always had the policy that in the last third of our season I don't keep our players on the court for more than two hours."
~Coach B.E. (TX) High School Coach

"Longer at the beginning of the year.  Shorten practice up as the year goes on."
~Coach M (FL) Youth Coach

"We keep our players on the court for about 2 hours to start. As we start to prepare for our post-season tournament we spend less time on the court (maybe 80 minutes) and we watch film more."
~Coach G (MN) High School Coach

"I generally don't have a specific amount of time for my teams.  Each team is different each year and I have to gauge what they can handle and need as far as practice time goes.  One piece of advice I have for younger coaches is don't keep your team on the floor for longer periods of time just because you scheduled a practice for 'x' hours. Watch your players and talk to them to gauge what they can handle each day."
~Coach T (WA)

"Depends on what our objectives are for each day. Some days we practice longer if we need it."
~Coach M (IL)

SHARING ON SATURDAY

SATURDAY:  A CHANCE TO SHARE WITH OTHER COACHES
Each Saturday thinkingbasketball.blogspot.com will announce a topic for coaches to have a chance to share their thoughts/ideas with others. Email your thoughts/ideas to dietelgreg@gmail.com on the topic and on Sunday (tomorrow) your idea(s) could be placed on this blog.

7/12/12 topic: What is your philosophy on length of practice during the season?  

Email dietelgreg@gmail.com and your thoughts could be placed in Sunday's blog entry.

TIPS FOR RUNNING A GREAT PRACTICE - PART 2

continued from yesterday...

1.  Maximize your gym space.  As a coach plans for their practices it is important to use as much of the space and/or baskets as possible.  By doing this the coach is creating a practice that will allow players to stay active and prevent them from having to stand in line for periods of time waiting for a rep during a drill.  During drill work players should spend more time "doing" rather than "waiting".

2. Create an environment where players will want to work hard.  There are two key factors in helping create this type of environment.  One is the coach setting expectations.  When setting up a drill or scrimmage session in practice the coach needs to communicate clearly to the team what the expectations are.  Don't give the team a list of ten expectations, keep the number low to give players a chance to focus on what the coach feels is needed the most.  The second factor is the coach needs to be firm but fair with players.  Every coach has their own coaching style that is a reflection of their personality.  Whatever the coaching style a coach can be demanding of their players.  Demanding does not have to mean the coach has to constantly yell at their players. Demanding means the coach pushes their players to meet the expectations set prior to the drill, scrimmage, or game.  How the coach goes about doing this is a reflection of their own personality.

3. Have a good tempo to your practice.  No matter if your team's style of play your practices need a good tempo.  One way to create a good tempo is to maximize your gym space (see #1 in today's blog post).  Another way to create good tempo is to shorten up your transition time in practice.  Transition time is the time between drills in practice.  If the coach is organized for practice this should not be an issue.  The more stand around and wait time the players have during transitions the worse the tempo to practice will be.  Obviously coaches need to allow time for their players to get water to keep hydrated, so this could take a bit more time during a transition.  But the quicker you can move your team from drill to drill the quicker the tempo will be.  You can get a lot more accomplished during a practice with a quicker tempo.

4. Recognize a time when things can loosen up.  Every coach wants their team to show a great work ethic in practice.  But a coach needs to recognize when things can loosen up for their players. The practice environment doesn't always have to be as serious as a tax audit every single minute your team is on the court.  Creating a fun drill or activity for your team can have a big boost for the overall mentality of the players.

5. Use other coaches.  So many times coaches feel they have to do everything on their own.  This is wrong, wrong, wrong!  If you are a staff of one, then you have to do it all on your own.  But if there are other coaches on your staff, use them.

6. Remember what you want your team to be known for.  Every coach should establish what their teams are absolutely going to be good at.  Do you want to be a defensive team?  A team that is great in transition?  A team that shows patience on offense?  A great rebounding team?  Whatever it is for your team, then practice it...every day.  It should be a big focus to all that you do during your practice sessions.   

If you have any questions, comments, or ideas to share with me regarding this post feel free to contact me at dietelgreg@gmail.com.

TIPS FOR RUNNING A GREAT PRACTICE - PART 1

1. Always have a practice plan written on paper for each practice.  Writing out your practice plan ahead of time means you have given thought ahead of time for your practice.  This will keep both you and your players organized.  Write out your practice plan in a way that makes sense to you.  Some coaches need only the time and name of the drill on paper to get them through practice in an organized fashion.  Others may need the time, drill, diagrams, and many notes to keep them organized.  Do what is best for you.

2. Make your practices competitive.  Create an environment that allows for competition in practices. Some ideas to keep your practices competitive are:

• Any drill that forces players to compete against each other.  This could be anything from 1-on-1 up to 5-on-5.  Have a winner and a loser within your drills and put a reward for the winner or an activity for the loser.  It could be something as simple as the losing player or team has to do 5 push-ups.  You would be surprised at how much harder players compete if they get the pleasure of watching their opponent do 5 push-ups. 
• Do things that are measurable.  Example A: If you are doing an individual shooting drill have players keep track of the number of makes.  Players can remember their score and then the next time they perform the same drill each player will have a personal best to try and beat.  Continuing with shooting, Example B:  During team shooting drills set a goal for number of makes in a certain amount of time.  This pushes the players to work hard in an attempt to beat the desired goal.  Example C:  When performing a traditional box out drill players need to get two consecutive defensive rebounds to be out of the drill.  Continuing with rebounding, Example D:  During a rebounding drill keep track of offensive rebounds. The player with the most offensive rebounds gets recognized in front of the team.  Remember that number and the next time the drill is performed the players have a goal to work for.  Having players work hard for offensive rebounds forces the defender to work at best effort when attempting to box out.
• The coach should set the expectations for each drill ahead of time.  Players should know exactly what is expected from them and why they are actually performing the drill.  This will prevent less hesitation from the players, and give your team the best opportunity to go all out in the drill.

3. Drill the fundamentals.  It doesn't matter what level of basketball you coach, the fundamentals of basketball will be the foundation for every team.  Dedicating fundamentals time to each practice is crucial to the continued development of your players and team.  Drilling the fundamentals can at times seem tedious to your players.  That is not always a bad thing because a coach can really gauge which players are mentally tough enough to continue working hard and not just go through the motions while working on the basic fundamentals of the game.  Coaches can create ways to make fundamental work fun and/or competitive.  Be creative!

4. Teach Whole to Part to Whole.  When introducing a new skill, concept, or an offense/defense use the whole-part-whole method.  Show them the end result first, then break it down to its smallest part, drill it and build your way back up to the end result.  Teaching this way gives your players a chance to truly understand what you are teaching.  The better a player understands the less time they need to stop and think about what is to be done.  This allows them to react and play rather than stop and think.

Tomorrow:  Tips For Running A Great Practice - Part 2